Teaming Up
by SilverUmbra
Summary: Tournaments aren't unheard of at Smash Palace, in fact, they're quite common. But when its required to keep the same partner for the entire extent, things are bound to go wrong. Rated because I'm paranoid.
1. Chapter 1

_Alright, so, well, this is my first time writing anything out of the Pokemon section, so, you know, yays and all that. So, apologies for any stupid mistakes I make, since I've never played the games of a good chunk of the characters. I'm not going to say much else, really. So... enjoy, I guess. If you can! xD Also, I call the Pokemon Trainer "Red" due to a lot of reasons. It just seems a little more... practical.  
_

_Fic!  
_

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Kirby rushed down the halls, navy eyes fixed on the exit at the far end of the long, forever stretch of white walls, screens, blue carpet and doors. The bell had rung all of two seconds ago, waking most of the inhabitants from their sleep, and Kirby had been out the moment it had. Thanks to the stupid room arrangements, the pink ball hero of Dreamland found that he lived in the very farthest corner of the living quarters, which was the worst place to be should there be a fire- which was very likely at Smash Palace. The only thing that could have been more of a tragedy would have been rooming Wario, and everyone was glad for ROB that he didn't have a sense of smell, or the poor guy would have wired himself to an unstable microwave circuit a long time ago.

But that was besides the point, because R.O.B didn't have to worry about what Kirby was fretting over. Even in a full sprint, Kirby calculated like he did every morning, it took thirteen seconds to get through the door, ten if it was a good day. But the chances of some conflict stepping into his path was high, so that dozen or so seconds always put the star warrior on edge. He was so edgy, in fact, that whatever was in his path, important or not, was second priority. He had to get to that door as fast as possible. And that was it.

So as he passed the seventh door, Kirby was pleased, because it had only been eight seconds, and he was two away from the door at most. He could hear the grumbles as he fellow fighters groggily got up and snapped at their roommates, but his one track mind only repeated the same thing over and over again. "_Door, door, door, door, door, door, do- holy crap big Link!" _He had been too busy repeating his mental mantra to realize that a tousle-haired hero of Hyrule had staggered from his door, groggily smoothing out the folds in his trademark hat to realize the pink blur that was racing towards him.

It's at the last moment when the most important of choices are made, choices that changed history and the world itself. Kirby found himself thinking of these two choices, weighing his options. Sure, he valued his friendship with everyone in Smash Palace, he was that sort of guy at heart, and he certainly valued Link's friendship quite a lot. However, he wasn't sure if the tall, blond hero could possibly compete with what laid behind the door at the end of the hall. So he was faced with two choices: choice A, stop and avoid a direct collision with Link and waste precious seconds, or choice B, bash him over the head with his giant mallet and apologize later.

As expected for the guy who thought with his stomach, Kirby chose B.

So as Link, hero of Hyrule, carrier of the Tripiece of Bravery turned his bleary blue eyes to look at the giant wooden hammer plummeting straight at him, he could only think of one thing.

"_Knew I shouldn't have gotten out of bed this morning."_

And then there was a flash of pain, followed by a sound thud as he collapsed onto the carpeted floor, giant bump forming on his skull. Link was in so much pain, he could barely manage a long stream of curses that would have made Kirby blink in confusion had he not already run past, throwing a "Sorry, Link! Sorry!" over his nonexistent shoulder. The hero knew one thing, he was going to kill that pink marshmallow one day. Until then, he could only hope he didn't die in the long stretch of hallway, or at least people not step on his body on the way out.

Meanwhile, Kirby had made it to the end of the hall, thrown open the door and burst into the room that had caused the entire conflict, breathing a giant sigh of relief and giving a giant grin. "I made it! I think I killed Link, but it was so worth it!" The hero of Dreamland exclaimed, before spinning around the kitchen. While the fact that they had just bashed one of their good friends over the head with a large mallet would have concerned most, Kirby and his terrible memory could only give a coo of happiness at several of the meals that had been laid out on the serving table. "Donuts! They have the jelly filled! Sweet!"

As he piled his plate high with as many donuts as he could, several of the other brawlers started filtering in, from the dismissive and indifferent Ike, to the cheery and kind Peach- who happened to be one of the few who looked perfectly groomed and orderly. Everyone else looked as if they had just rolled out of bed, which they had. Well, Mr. Game & Watch didn't, nor R.O.B, but that was obvious as to why.

"Kirby, man, how do you get here so early?" A voice rang out, and Kirby didn't even have to turn his gaze from his meal to know that it was Ness, the raven haired psychic of Smash Palace. Swallowing down two donuts in one gulp, the pink ball of Dreamland gave a light laugh.

"Oh, I just run really fast. And I have no morals when I'm hungry." He replied, before throwing three more donuts down his throat. Or maybe it was his stomach. Ah, who cared. Ness shook his head, glad that he hadn't been the victim of whoever had been the unfortunate one to get in Kirby's way, and the painful strike of his giant hammer. Wherever it came from. One of the many mysteries that all of the fighters had yet to solve.

"Aw, man..." Lucas suddenly chirped up, and Kirby and Ness jumped. Lucas had that strange ability to blend in and disappear, probably due to how quiet and timid he was. However, after hanging around with Ness and Kirby, who did nothing but joke around and play pranks, it was easy to warm up. "Kirby, how many of those have you eaten?"

"After this one..." Another donut disappeared into his mouth, never to see the light of day again. "twenty-three!" He threw his arms into the air, giving a cheer. "New record!"

"You probably could have gotten higher, too." Lucas noted, "If there were any donuts left." Indeed, Kirby had cleaned out all of them for the day, and several people were sending him death glares behind his back; but he was oblivious and failed to notice a thing. He did, however, notice a shadow that attempted to slip cunningly from the shadows and towards the exit, because he jumped up from his seat and gave a giant shout, oblivious grin plastered on his face.

"Meta Knight!"

Said fighter stopped cold in his tracks. "Damn..." He muttered, slowly turning around, masked golden eyes narrowed into slits. "_What_, Kirby?" He asked, tone patient in that not-so-patient-annoyed-not-worth-my-time way that he adopted whenever dealing with the pink ball of hyperness and overeating. Said person waved with his stubby arms to the table where Ness, Lucas and recently R.O.B were seated.

"Sit with your bestest friends in the world!" He replied loudly, and Meta Knight shuddered.

"Please keep me out of that categorization." R.O.B replied in that neutral, robotic tone he always kept. "It is quite depressing." Out of all of them, R.O.B was the most sane, and also the most honest. Maybe it was the programming or the wires or whatever was going on in his plastic cranium, but the guy was as tactful as a needle covered potato. And just as optimistic.

"Agreed." Meta Knight groaned, before seating himself down and giving a sigh. It was better to sit and bear the idiocy than to be chased around by Kirby, who would cry and pout and whine until someone shut him up one way or the next, if by sword or hammer or bomb depended on who. The same cheery guy was about to start one of his usual conversations about one pointless thing or the next in which everyone would have to suffer through when the doors exploded open with such force that they hit the walls with a clap that echoed through the entire room. Silence dominated the atmosphere. And then-

"KIRBY! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

Kirby jumped up, bewildered. "Huh?"

"... not again..." Lucas muttered softly, shaking his head in tempo with Ness. Maybe it was the psychic thing or whatever, but they usually did that, and it unnerved a lot of the fighters. But no one was paying attention to that little detail, they were all focused on the tall, striding figure garbed in green that was making his way to Kirby's table. Pit followed behind, looking sheepish, and his wings folded and unfolded in that nervous habit of his.

"I hope the donuts were worth it!" Link wailed, tearing off his hat and exposing the bump on his head. In a last ditch effort, someone had put the every day band-aid over the injury, but it obviously didn't help. Even then, most people were surprised that the hero of Hyrule had even taken his hat off; even in battle it stayed put, and most had started to assume it had become one with his hair. It wouldn't be the weirdest thing, considering the company that lived in Smash Palace.

Kirby simply had the usual expression of confusion on his face, as if he honestly didn't understand the situation or recognize the person in front of him. Knowing Kirby, that was highly likely. "Look! You did that! For what? Donuts! What do you have to say for yourself?!" Link demanded.

There came a long pause, as if the hero of Dreamland was considering the scenario deeply.

"They were very good donuts." He finally chirped up, looking pleased.

While Pit held Link back from running the Master Sword through the marshmallow brawler, Kirby cheerily picked up his glass of orange juice and took a large gulp, once again heedless to the conflict that was occurring not even two feet away from him. "Don't, Link! Don't!" The angel pleaded, "Calm down! Do the right thing!"

"This is the right thing! Let me kill him! He's pure evil! Pure evil!" Link ranted, waving his blue-hilted sword above his head. "I have to kill him! The cute face is just a facade! He's evil! Must kill evil!" On the side line, Meta Knight realized that Link had hinted at what he had thought all along. Maybe behind the adorable, huge blue eyes and cheery smile there was an evil mastermind plotting the end of the world that was just waiting for the perfect moment...

... but then Kirby blew bubbles through his straw and laughed like it was the funniest thing ever, and Meta Knight quickly dismissed the idea. No one that stupid could even dominate a bowl of jello, let alone the world.

Finally, with the help of Ike, Marth and Samus, Link was dragged away, still yelling at the top of his lungs, and eventually the usual chatter took over again. The conflict was forgotten; after all, it happened all the time, people threatening to kill each other, explosions and other vendettas that were developed over the strangest things. No doubt another weird scenario would come to light in a little while, probably over pillows or trophies or stickers again.

"What'd I miss?" A drowsy voice asked, punctuated by a long yawn. Toon Link collapsed at the table, hair a mess of blond locks and hat lopsided on his head. His green eyes were still half shut from sleep, and he looked more like a zombie than his usual cheery self. He never had been a morning person, and as usual he was the last one to the kitchen. Ness shrugged.

"Oh, tall you got whacked over the head with a mallet by Kirby, and then Samus, Marth, Ike and Pit had to stop him from deflating him with the Master Sword." The psychic replied. The large-eyed, strangely proportioned hero perked, suddenly wide awake. Anything involving his taller, older, more serious and well, more defined counterpart always caught his attention, more so if it was public humiliation.

"Really?! And I wasn't here to see that?" A giant grin spread over his face. "Did anyone get a picture?"

Everyone shook their heads. Toon Link gave a sad sigh. "Aw, nuts. Another chance'll come, I suppose."

This time everyone nodded. No doubt about that.

Kirby was about to go for seconds, Meta Knight was about to disappear again, and R.O.B was about to, well, do nothing, really, when there came a crackle as the announcing device clicked on. Everyone, from Mario to Lucario, tensed. That was never a good sign. "What is it this time. Perhaps an announcement of foreclosure? A horrible disease? Large insects from another dimension?" R.O.B inquired, seeming almost amused by his vocab musings. Lucas shot him a scared look, rattled.

"Stop, R.O.B..." Ness sighed, "It's probably nothing. Geez..."

**"This is Master Hand." **The speakers boomed from all sides. **"All brawlers must come to the auditorium immediately. That is all."**

"See?" The psychic urged. "Just a meeting."

"Yes." The robot replied. "It is much more honest to announce such foreclosures due to disease ridden insects from another dimension in person, I suppose. You are very right."

"No, no, no." Ness said hastily, as it looked like Lucas was about to have a panic attack. "That's not what I meant..."

"Guys, guys, guys!" Somehow, while Ness had been trying to explain- pointlessly- to R.O.B the meaning of tact, Kirby had raced to the doors and was now hopping around impatiently. "Let's go, let's go, let's go! If there are giant insects from other dimensions..." He struck as much of a pose as a ball could. "I want to eat one!"

"That's disgusting." Meta Knight scowled. Nonetheless, they- as well as everyone else- reluctantly exited the dining room and traveled down the hall to certain doom.

* * *

_There we are. That was actually really fun to write. Hopefully it wasn't miserable to read x3 SU out! (Ha! I can still say that!)_


	2. Chapter 2

_Haha... sorry about the delay. School and all that fun stuff got in the way. _

_Review stuff:_

**_Ri2: _**

_Yeah, I quite like R.O.B myself. It was either the sadistic nature or an extremely emotional one- both on the opposite sides of the spectrum, interestingly enough. It's obvious which one I decided on. Thanks for the review!_

_**SlasherMask**_

_I need to start playing more video games, really. It's a little embarrassing. To be fair though, Pit and the Ice Climbers and Mr. Game and Watch and Ness and Lucas came from some pretty old games, I believe. And R.O.B... is well... R.O.B... Thanks for the review!_

_**Dragonluvr1993**_

_Thanks! I was a little nervous about trying out a new section, but it seems to be okay for now. Of course, my favorite characters to use in Brawl are Kirby, Toon Link and Ness, and Zelda/Shiek and Samus at times. For some reason I just can't play as Lucario Dx I always lose. Thanks for the review! -cheers-  
_

_**Starlll**_

_Well, I haven't quite specified yet, but you'll see ;D Thanks for reviewing!_

_**Wawert's Lazy Brother**_

_Thanks, I realized- after too long, I think- that character's really make the story. If the character's are flat, so is the story. So it took me a while to decide how I wanted them to be. As for the shortness, I agree, actually, but 2300 words seems to be the average chapter length no matter what for me. Not sure why. Same thing with plot, I tend to be pretty slow on developing things, just one of those factors I need to practice on. And for the inhaling thing, he's not exactly the smartest at times x3... _

_This shouldn't turn into a sappy romance fic, despite my history, as its more on friendship and humor more than anything. Though, I do love my romances. I'll look forward to the rating! Thanks for reviewing!_

_  
**FIC!**  
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* * *

Meta Knight was the kind of guy who was sure to pay attention to everything, because even the slightest, least important details at the time could prove to be crucial to future survival. Even knowing the lunch menu for the day could mean the difference of having a perfectly pain and humiliation-free day or finding yourself in a penguin suit in the middle of a musical with not a clue of how it happened and a rash of mistakes to angst over in retrospect. The citizen of Dreamland had learned from his past mistakes, unlike some, and was now sure to pay attention to everything that went on around him. It was either that or be forced to dress up as a marine flightless avian and reenact the scene from whatever that musical had been about, and for that he would rather not.

The knight was also not one to be easily distracted, unlike Kirby, who hopped from one subject of conversation to another on every scale of the vocal interaction spectrum without a single pause, easily going from candy to people- which, at times, were interchangeable to him- which would have been somewhat impressive if Meta Knight hadn't been so irked from being cut off from an important discussion on rankings for said pink ball to burst out something about 'how Meta Knight was the only one from Dreamland here who couldn't inhale things' in such a loud voice that everything else in the room went silent. Of course, after that little interlude of pointless observation- that most people had rationalized- the original subject of conversation had been lost, and so had any seriousness. Then people wondered why he didn't talk much.

So sitting in one of the seats in the meeting room, which was vast and tall and made every movement amplify to the point where even the lightest of character's shifting sounded like giant claws wracking against marble, Meta Knight noted everything he could. The exit was exactly fifteen feet away from him, he was seated at the edge seat, with Marth sitting on the edge seat in the isle opposite him, and Kirby bouncing in his own seat next to the masked fighter. If it came down to it, and a quick escape was needed, he was sure he was faster than Marth was, so there was no worry there- if there was any conflict, he could always throw Kirby at someone, that always seemed to work. After all, if faced with a pink ball that could swallow you whole that happened to be speeding at you, who wouldn't freeze in their tracks?

It was ten. The weather outside was warm and slightly windy. There were no windows in the room. There were four exits. The walls were made of wood and plaster. There were thirty five fighters in the room. It would take approximately seven seconds to make a dash out of the room, if no one got in the way. The average reaction speed for almost everyone in the room was around twenty milliseconds. For Kirby it was around five seconds. It would take around a minute and a half to get outside. The carpets were a blue-ish gray, except in the entrance room and a few other places, in which it was polished wood or marble. Captain Falcon parked his beloved racer in the back parking lot. And most importantly...

... For lunch today it was pizza.

Ten seconds before Master Hand was to take the stage and drone on about whatever he wanted to talk about, and Meta Knight already had an escape route from the room, the entire mansion and even the planet, if necessary. While he had been doing his calculations in his head, Kirby had been pondering deeply over what toppings he wanted, before getting distracted by a piece of gum on the bottom of the chair in front of him. And since the pink ball had nothing better to think of, he made up a story about how it got there- all in which involved space whales and rainbow pirates.

"_Greetings_!" Everyone in the room, even those who were cool headed and were rarely fazed, jumped in their seats. Master Hand's voice had that strange ability to echo not only in the confines of the room, but also in the heads of everyone around him, which left a buzzing and disoriented sensation. Meta Knight couldn't help but wonder where he spoke from, seeing as he was just a glove, and thus had no mouth. It would shame him later, but the knight spent the rest of the meeting looking for speakers, a little distraction that would prove to be his undoing later."_I have summoned you all here to announce the beginning of a new tournament..."_

Kirby broke away from his mental story and jerked his navy eyes upwards, jumping up and leaning his small arms on the back of the seat in front of him to get a better view. Samus, who was sitting in front of him, gave a slight grunt but said nothing. All around a series of whispers and grunts sounded as the fighters talked amongst themselves. Kirby waved one hand over his head like an excited third grader who thinks he knows the answer. "Oooh!" He cooed, "Really? Really?!"

"_Really_." Came Master Hand's reply. He was one of the few who never lost his patience. Despite the fact that he beat up all of the Smashers every once in a while to see how strong they were, he wasn't necessarily a bad gu- glove. "_It's a little different than the others, so please let me explain." _The pink hero of Dreamland nodded his head brightly, giving a cheery hum before taking his seat again. Twiddling his white fabric fingers, Master Hand continued, voice holding a tone of regal contentment. "_For this tournament, which is going to span over around fifty-one days, if all goes as planned, is one of the major tournaments being held. This is the keyed point-" _the gloved being raised his voice, snapping everyone to attention. "_It will be a team tournament, only, unlike the others, listen to this well, you will keep the same partner for the entire tournament."_

R.O.B, giving a whirl and click as his systems ran, spoke up, "May I point out that there are thirty-five fighters, and thus it is impossible to divide those groups into pairs?"

"_I am well aware of that._" Master Hand said, "_Due to several... issues with some of the systems of Smash Palace, Ganondorf has decided to help me straighten a few things out." _The villain of Hyrule gave an indifferent nod, and Link and Zelda peered at him suspiciously. Out of the villains that had joined the ranks, he was the most dangerous. Bowser wasn't even that bad, sort of a softie if you knew him well, and Kind Dedede just really liked to _eat_. _ "It is very rare that there is an even number of fighters, so I figured that this would be an interesting idea for the occasion. It's really just to test the waters, really, so things may be changed later." _

"The mathematics of your plan still doesn't add up." R.O.B droned. "There are seventeen pairs in this case. Which means two teams against each other at a time. How can this be done fairly?"

"_You'll see." _Was the glove's answer. "_I've thought this over extensively, so everything has been ironed out." _He waved his hand to dismiss the matter, and that's when several of the Smasher's realized something very important. A giant hand that like to gesticulate was a very dangerous thing indeed. "_On ward, I thought of the possibility of assigning partners..." _A series of groans were admitted at the prospect. He gave one of his deep laughs that rattled the bones, wires and whatever was inside of some of the fighters. "_I figured you would react like that. So you may pick your partners. HOWEVER-" _His voice became so stern that it stopped anyone from turning to each other in excitement. "_You must figure this out in one minute. Then I need to know so I may record it. If you do not have a partner, one will be picked for you. After that nothing can be changed. You will be fighting with that person for a long time, so choose wisely. This is the most important step, so I will give the rest of the details via board." _Giving a motion that was probably a nod, Master Hand continued, "_Now you may find your partners."_

The room exploded into chatter as Master Hand moved back and the Smashers yelled over the room a series claims and insults. Sitting back in his seat, Meta Knight continued to ponder over how the giant glove could talk without a mouth, and even more so, who the hand belonged to. He was so deep in his thoughts, that when Kirby asked him something in that loud, cheery voice several octaves too high, he only nodded and mumbled a "Sure, whatever, just shut up" before he could lose his thoughts. He was aware that Ness and Lucas were talking excitedly about winning a tournament, but he hadn't quite made the connection yet.

And then the bell rang, announcing that time had run out.

And finally Meta Knight snapped out of his thoughts and finally got his head out of the ground. "_Time is up." _Master Hand's voice echoed, as a screen rolled down from the ceiling of the stage, showing a series of mini-icons of the Smasher's faces. "_For those who did not pick a partner for the tournament, one has been chosen for you. They will go as following." _Meta Knight gave a sigh, mentally kicking himself for being so distracted, but hadn't seen the harm in it. Worst case he was stuck with someone for the tournament, and it wasn't like he actually cared who had to fight with.

"Aren't you excited?"

Great, Kirby was back from wherever he had run to. "Sure, whatever." He mumbled, scanning the screen for his face. He was in the back of the room, and the images were small, so he couldn't quite see where he was. As he searched he saw that Ness and Lucas had teamed up, as well as Mr. Game and Watch and R.O.B, and Toon Link and Olimar. Others were more surprising, and no doubt a result of the random mix up- Luigi and King Dedede, Yoshi and Wario, Lucario and Red, the most extreme being Snake and Sonic, both in which had come to hate each other for some enigmatic reason. Several high fives and glares of death were exchanged, but Meta Knight was oblivious to all of this.

"No..." Behind his mask, he was sure his face was pale. All of the chatter in the background faded off, and a faint buzzing filled his head.

Because there was his face and next to his face was-

"We gotta work hard!" Kirby cheered, "I heard that the prize is pretty awesome!" He jumped up and did a pose, "We're gonna rock this place! Right? Meta Knight? Right? Meta Knight? You okay?" A pink, stubby arm was waved in front of his face, "Hey?"

"Kirby..." Meta Knight's voice was very quiet, and held a dangerous hue. "Earlier, did you ask me to be your partner?"

"Yep!" Came his cheerful reply. "So I ran up and told Master Hand like he said to."

"I see..." The knight replied, before getting up from his seat and wandering down the aisle and towards the exit. Kirby jumped from his own seat and skipped after him, humming. Down in the front of the room Snake had pulled out one of his grenades and was waving it over his head while Red's Ivysaur held him back with her vines, as Sonic taunted about how he was physically and mentally slow. The people who had gotten paired with people who they actually got along with were planning their victories and how they were going to do their victory dance, while others were already planning strategies. Master Hand looked overall very amused, if a giant glove could.

"Where you going, Meta?" Kirby chirped, easily keeping up with the other Dreamland citizen's fast pace.

"To sleep." He said. "It starts tomorrow. At least I can pretend that it doesn't for another dozen hours. For those hours I can pretend that this never happened." Meta Knight paused, then continued. "Tomorrow is tomorrow. And today is today. And I'm spending today sleeping to prepare for tomorrow. Understand?"

Kirby looked puzzled. "Um... no. But I'll pretend that I do." He shot him an inquisitive look, "But you'll miss lunch and dinner if you sleep all day. And it's pizza!" He exclaimed like it was one of the great things in the world- which, to Kirby, it was. "There's so many toppings to choose from, how could you skip it?" He questioned, clearly baffled. "You know, if you don't eat you get really distracted, then you miss really important details! Did you know that? Samus said so. Or maybe it was Zelda. Or Peach." He paused. "Or Marth." He shook it off, "All that matters is that you have to eat to think. Smart people eat a lot, ya know. That's why I'm so smart!"

"..." Meta Knight said.

"Of course, it's also very important that you get your sleep." Kirby rationalized. "Since you can go crazy if you don't. Ooo! You know what's really interesting? I heard that there's a certain candy that glows in the dark! Isn't that neat?"

The masked knight groaned. Typical. "Honestly..."

"Yep!" He agreed. "I wonder, if you eat enough of those, do you eventually glow in the dark too? That's be awesome!"

So on that clear, warm but slightly windy morning Meta Knight learned that even the slightest lapses in attention could lead to a series of unfortunate events.

Again.

* * *

_So there we go, then! I'll try to update a little faster this time, so sorry for that! ^^; SU out!  
_


	3. Chapter 3

_Ah~ it's finally break for me, and it feels nice to sleep in on a Monday. So, hopefully, I should update faster, but you know how it is. Anyways, thank you for those that reviewed, your points really do help me improve my writing skills, which is always a good thing._

_**Leo-Blazer: **_

_I'm glad that I put you in a good mood, that's always one of my goals when I write humor! The other being that I don't sound completely lame- but you now how that runs. Thanks for the review!_

_**Starll**_

_Do they have glow in the dark candy? I just made it up at the top of my head. I suppose if you're eating candy in the dark and you spill it, it would be useful. Like at movies or something! And yes, I'm glad I'm not Meta Knight, too. Thanks for the review!_

_**Ri2**_

_Haha, I love writing as Kirby, it let's me release my inner hyper child person- whom I'm not any other time. In Meta Knight's case, well, it's stupid mistakes that get good plots rolling- or at least semi decent ones. Thanks for reviewing!_

_**YoshiLink**_

_-cheers- Thank you so much, that's a big help to my self esteem. I'm glad that you enjoyed reading the first two chapters, and I hope that you enjoy the future ones just as much. Reviews like these always keep me working hard! Thanks!_

_**Red One 1223**_

_I think that would be a pretty short story, all things considered. Thanks for reviewing!_

_**SlasherMask**_

_I played a short trial run of Ice Climber and Kid Icarus via the trial play on SSBB, but I never would have known where they came from, if not for that. I really need to go back and play more video games some time... And yes, past experiences direct to the same conclusion, always listen to what people ask you, especially when they're known for doing dumb or destructive things. Thanks for the review!_

_**Explodium**_

_Thank you, I'm glad you like it so far! As for the other teams, well, you'll see! ;D_

_**Sgt. Shank**_

_Ah, yes, true. But pairings are faint, so you probably won't even notice them. Thanks for reviewing!_

_**Dragonluvr1993**_

_Kirby getting run over by the Blue Falcon is for a later chapter, actually! ;D Thanks for the review!_

_**Wawert's Lazy Brother**_

_Yep, I'm trying to get down the basics without failing utterly. And Crazy Hand- who's twitching creeps me out, by the way- does show up, fortunately or unfortunately depending on how much you like, er, crazy... hands. Thanks for the review!_

_Now..._

_**FIC!**_

* * *

Walking down the hall to her room, Samus stopped at the edge of the ruckus of people shouting and arguing and most likely throwing punches at each other, once again remembering one of the many things she disliked about Smash Palace- namely, the location of her room. While it wasn't the worst possible place, it was rested adjacent to the hall monitor where Master Hand put information when he was too busy to announce it himself, and thus, every morning, there was no doubt a crowd of people looking at what the special deserts were or matches or whatever information was running across its flickering blue screen.

Pushing through the crowd to make her way to the message board, the bounty hunter blocked a few punches, threw some of her own, knocked a few people over and finally stood, arms crossed and scowling at the object of communication that made her loath her room so. "What's going on?" She asked to R.O.B, who was one of the few who didn't seem to be worried by the shoving and shouting that was going on around him. Samus knew that if anyone was informative of anything, it was Peach and her gossip grapevine, or R.O.B and his general computer logic. And, as aware of her surroundings as she was, Samus really didn't care much for what everyone else worried about, she had more things to ponder on that didn't have to do with stickers, money, trophies or meals.

"Simple really." The robot droned, "Master Hand has posted the matches for tomorrow."

"Already? For tomorrow?" She couldn't help but sound surprised. Usually there was a two days grace period before any tournament started, so having it so soon was almost unheard of. Samus gave a grim smile, Master Hand obviously wanted them to be busy, since they wouldn't notice anything amiss, and it unnerved her to no end. 'Paranoid' was one of the many adjectives that had been used to describe the armored fighter, but she always replied the same way: 'if you have the leisure to be relaxed, you have the leisure to be dead'.

"Indeed. Quite unheard of." R.O.B clicked in reply, as he whirled his arms to clasp together. "Perhaps Master Hand is too busy with something to deal with such conflicts involving the fighters? There is a ninty-three percent chance of that being the case. Odd, odd."

Of thirty-four other people, the only two that shared her paranoid nature happened to be a sadist of a robot and a guy who hid in a box. "_I need some hobbies..."_

Shaking this thought away, she focused on what was actually typed on the screen, inwardly growling at the small text and bright blue screen. Obviously someone hadn't thought of that color scheme very well. Out of the seventeen teams, five of them were fighting the next day, and it was a single stock battle. Samus reread the settings, not believing her eyes, and came up with the same result. Single stock battles... Another thing she wasn't used to- and she had been fighting as one of the Smashers since Master Hand had concocted the idea. Usually stock tournaments had three stock per person, never just one. That would make each fight extremely quick.

"Or extremely long." Ness offered, while blocking Ike's sword with his baseball bat.

"Indeed. This setting is most likely used to increase teamwork." The white and red machine stated. "Quite clever, if I may say so."

Before she could ponder on it further, her eyes caught exactly who was fighting, and she leaned forward to get a better look. "Damn... I don't fight until after tomorrow." She grumbled, "Who thought of these matches, anyway?"

"A random generator, obviously." Just as he was about to add on another comment, a red foot came down on his rectangular head, forcing him to the ground with a crack. A thought of if R.O.B had spare parts to fix himself crossed Samus' mind, but the idea of a storage closet filled with sadist robots creeped her out, so she quickly dismissed it. "Oh bother, I seem to have cracked my screen. Kirby, I will destroy you one day."

"Sorry, R.O.B!" The hero of Dreamland said, not sounding apologetic in the least. He attached himself to Samus' helmet, leaning forward to gaze excitedly at the screen. "Sweet! I get to fight tomorrow!" He cheered, while the space fighter only grunted, resting the urge to throw him out a window- wherever one was. "Hey, Samus, Samus!" Kirby trilled, "Who are you paired with, when are you gonna fight, can I watch?" He spewed all three questions so quickly that she made the mistake of trying to answer all three at the same time.

"Gah." She replied.

Most would have blinked and looked confused and probably would have asked her to repeat herself, but the pink ball only beamed- he probably wouldn't have been listening anyway. "Cool!" He chirped. "I saw Pikachu near the back of the crowd, I think she was arguing with Red's Charizard, but heck if I'd know. It honestly sounds like they're saying their names over and over again!"

"_Not unlike how you introduce yourself..." _Samus thought grimly as she recalled the meeting. The first thing she thought was what kind of world a pink, hyper marshmallow could come from when she saw the hero of Dreamland, and couldn't help but feel bad, hitting him in battle, she meant. That was before she realized how unintentionally- or maybe on purpose- evil he could be. There was much to fear from a ball that could swallow you whole. Very, very much, indeed. "You're fighting Mario and Bowser tomorrow, right? Think you'll win?"

"Of course!" He beamed. "It'll be a piece of cake! And just as delicious!" He tapped his arms against the smooth material of her helmet, "So, what about you, huuuh?" He laughed, "I can't believe that Captain Falcon and Falco are both on a team. Am I the only one who finds that hilarious?"

"With a brain capacity such as yours, that is likely." R.O.B.'s voice insulted from the floor.

Samus nodded in agreement before pushing through the crowd and to her room, dispatching Kirby from her helmet with a halfhearted swat. She knew exactly what she had to do before her fight, one of them happening to be the language problem. Lucario could talk- though he chose not to- but Pikachu couldn't, so most of the time no one knew exactly what was up. The electric mouse was cool enough, but "Pika pi" could mean several things, and she didn't exactly have the time in the middle of battle to figure it out.

As the door slid open with a hiss, several pink and black pigs spilled out in a storm of squeals and oinks, and it was so unexpected that she couldn't help but jump back and charge up her cannon all the same. Staying at Smash Palace did that to some people- made them even more paranoid than they already were. They looked like normal pigs, but there was always that small chance that they were just like those toy ferrets Snake had once made. They looked cute and cuddly, but as soon as you let your guard down...

Before she could start shooting, Toon Link- whom Samus hadn't even noticed had been in the hall- dived into the mess, lunging to grab one of the round pink animals, holding it above his head like a hard earned trophy. "Haha! Caught you at last!" The other pigs scattered, heading straight for the poor souls who were still trying to read the board, completely oblivious to the mass of _Sus scrofa _speeding towards them. As several of the Smashers were mowed down, Samus turned her attention back to the short, cheerier version of Link, who was twirling around in circles, his captive squealing in terror.

"Bacon tonight!" He cheered, before giving an innocent, wide-eyed glance at the look that Samus was surely sending- visor or not. "I'm joking. Really."

"Couldn't tell." She replied, once again pondering over the sanity of her fellow Smashers. "_Maybe I'm not the one who needs hobbies..."_

She shook the thought away. "What exactly are you going to do with it?"

Toon Link grinned, "The world shall never know!" Before he put the pig down and chased after it, waving the Master Sword over his head, "Take me to your friends! Rah! Rah!"

Samus stood for a while, not sure exactly what to do or what she had been doing previously, before mentally kicking herself. "Right, right... language... right..."

* * *

... and that's how Samus spent a good portion of her afternoon.

"Alright, Pikachu..." The bounty hunter started, feeling ridiculous for several reasons, glad that no one was here to see such a humiliating sight. Her suit, as useful as it was, lacked any sort of translator for Pokemon, which wasn't all too surprising, considering. Nonetheless, she would have thought that Red would have something of the sort, but he always talked about that bond between Trainer and Pokemon that was obviously a loud of crap. Which, as expected, didn't help her much.

So, Pikachu to English dictionary in her lap, the female Smasher struggled to figure out the basics. "Tell me, what does 'there is a fiery doom coming towards you and you should duck unless you dislike your head' translate to?" The electric rodent, sitting on her bed across from her paused, before making a number of hand gestures.

"Pikapika, pii pii, pika pika."

"Pikapika, pii pii, pika pika." She repeated, once again glad that no one was around. Samus hesitated, before leafing through the book in her lap with annoyed urgency. "Wait a second!" She snapped, shoving the book in the electric yellow rodent's face. "That means the same thing as 'it's perfectly safe and clear'! What the hell?! That's not an interchangeable phrase, you know!"

The electric type looked remorseful. "Pikapikachu."

"Either you're telling me that's not the same, or that there's several flying toothbrushes behind me." She paused, before holding the book at arms length like it had suddenly burst into flames. "I'm starting to doubt these sources... unless where you come from is really that messed up."

"Pii..."

"Agreed, agreed..." Samus leaned backwards, throwing her feet onto the table. "So you can understand me, but I can't understand you... it's obvious who's at fault here." She straightened, causing Pikachu to raise her ears in alarm at the sudden movement. "Why don't you speak English, hm? Why didn't Master Hand program you to speak English? It sure would save a lot of trouble and misunderstanding. Do you know how infuriating it is, trying to guess what you're saying, and not knowing ninety-seven percent of the time?" The bounty hunter paused, before giving a sigh.

"Piipiipika (What is for lunch today?) is very similar to Pipiipika (Go rot in a hole somewhere). What a strange language." She said, "You know, this is why everyone thinks you have the intelligence of an every day rat. Only you're a static filled rat..." The bounty hunter trailed off, head tilted down in thought, while said electric rodent gave an exasperated 'pikapii.' "You know what? Piipikapikapii... pika (Your language is inferior)."

Her attention was diverted when she heard a muffled giggle, and the brawlers turned to the doorway, where an extremely amused princess of Hyrule stood, trying to hide her mirth behind one white gloved hand. "What's so funny?" Samus muttered, annoyed. "Can't someone utterly fail at learning a language once and a while?"

Zelda shook her head, locks of brown hair shifting at the movement. "It's just... seeing you of all people saying 'pikapii' is probably the most strangest thing I've seen- and that's saying a lot, considering." She sat down at the table in the middle of the room, picking up one of the menus that was scattered on its surface, more out of boredom than any particular interest. "So... what do you think is up with this tournament?" The brunette asked casually, blue eyes gazing up from the top of the magazine. "Suspicious, hm?"

"_Correction, a guy who hides in a box, a sadist robot and a princess from some mythical land are the only people who are as paranoid as I am..."_

"Yeah." Her voice is rigid with sarcasm. "So is a mini version of your hero chasing after a pig, but I see that almost every day."

"Pii..."

"That's weird, not suspicious." Zelda replied, sighing as she put the menu down and folded her arms in front of her chest. "And Din knows that this place is filled with weird things... but they usually aren't dangerous. Toon Link chasing pigs, strange, but not dangerous. A hungry Kirby, strange, and usually very dangerous." She paused, "A trigger happy, cold bounty hunter from space trying to learn Pikachu, strange and... well, I've yet to see if its dangerous or not."

Samus scowled at the mention, "You know what? Piipiipika..."

"Pizza." Zelda replied, sounding smug as the other female Smasher flipped through her dictionary to see where she went wrong. "Which, as a matter of fact, is going to be gone if you don't head to the cafeteria soon. That's the whole reason I came up here." She stood, smoothing out the wrinkles in her highly decorative dress before walking towards the hall. At the doorway she turned, delicately grasping the frame, face slightly troubled.

"What?" The power suit wearing fighter asked, a tone of impatience hanging onto her voice.

"I really don't like the atmosphere Master Hand set up." The princess stated bluntly, "Why would he need help with anything if he's so powerful? And why Ganondorf of all people? Especially knowing his history..." She bit her lip, blue eyes narrowed with her obvious distress. "I'd recommend you keep an eye out for anything... amiss..."

"I do that already, if you haven't noticed." Samus retorted, which was, sadly, the truth. "And much good it'll do, with all of the crazy stuff that goes on around here."

The brunette shrugged, admitting the point. "Nonetheless, it will be in your best interests to keep aware. I've already asked a few other people, and Peach is working on her grapevine, so she may have something to say later. She may look dumb, but she does know how to get information."

"Interesting." Came the bounty hunter's reply, sharp with mocking. "I'd only noticed the dumb aspect."

Once again, only a small shrug. "See you downstairs."

After the princess of Hyrule disappeared down the hall, Samus leaned back, staring at the ceiling, pondering over the points that she had brought up. "What do you think, Pikachu? A conspiracy?"

"Pikapika cha..."

A sigh. "Let's just get some lunch."

* * *

_So, yep, that's the chapter. The actual tourny is next chapter, for those who are waiting for the fights and outcomes. Thanks for reading! SU out!  
_


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